Lesson 5
El cuerpo y las enfermedades.
Parts of the body, symptoms, illnesses and accidents, and how to say what hurts (me duele…) at the doctor's. Work through the eight steps below: learn the words, read, listen, translate, then practise the photo card, role-play and writing exactly as they appear in the AQA exam.
Refresh your KS3 body words.
You met all of these in earlier years. Tap any word to hear it, and check the model sentence to see it in action. These are the building blocks — make sure they're solid before the new GCSE words.
Twenty new GCSE words.
Each card shows the word, its meaning, a model sentence and a tag: F on the AQA list (Foundation & Higher), H Higher only, útil not on AQA's list but very useful for speaking & writing. Tap to listen.
Read, then answer.
Two texts on the same topic — a Foundation text and a tougher Higher text. Read each one, then answer the questions in English underneath. They mark themselves: tap your answer and you'll see straight away if you're right.
Un día enfermo — Marcos
Un accidente jugando al fútbol
Listen, then answer.
Press play to hear the passage read aloud, as many times as you need, then answer the English questions. You can reveal the transcript afterwards to check what you heard.
🎧 Native-quality audio. Play it as many times as you need — just like the real exam, where each recording is played twice.
He estado enferma — Ana
Me rompí el brazo — Pablo
Translate both ways.
First Spanish → English (reading translation), then English → Spanish (the harder direction, tested in Paper 4). Have a go on paper, then tap to reveal the model answer and compare.
Translate into English
Translate into Spanish
Describe the photo card.
In the speaking exam you get a card with two photos from one theme. You must say at least one thing about each photo, then have a conversation on the topic. Here are two photos about illness and health care and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe la escena. Compulsory
- 2.¿Cuándo fue la última vez que estuviste enfermo/a? ¿Qué te pasó?
- 3.¿Qué haces normalmente cuando estás enfermo/a?
- 4.¿Es importante cuidar la salud? (opinión + razón)
Describing the photos — model answer
The first question is compulsory: say at least one thing about each photo. Below are two model descriptions you can adapt to whoever is in the picture — tap the speaker to hear them.
Foto A — ill in bed. En la primera foto hay una mujer que está enferma en la cama. Lleva una bata gris y se está sonando la nariz con un pañuelo, porque parece que está resfriada o tiene gripe. Al lado de la cama hay una caja de pañuelos, una taza de té caliente y un medicamento para la gripe. También se ve un cartel que dice: «descansa, bebe agua y mejórate». Está descansando para recuperarse.
In the first photo there is a woman who is ill in bed. She is wearing a grey dressing gown and is blowing her nose with a tissue, because she seems to have a cold or the flu. Next to the bed there is a box of tissues, a cup of hot tea and some flu medicine. You can also see a sign that says "rest, hydrate and feel better". She is resting to get better.
Foto B — at the hospital. En la segunda foto se ve a un médico en un hospital. Lleva una bata blanca y un estetoscopio alrededor del cuello, y está escribiendo en un portapapeles. Detrás de él hay un paciente mayor acostado en una cama, y el hospital parece muy concurrido, con enfermeras y máquinas por todas partes. El médico está cuidando a los enfermos.
In the second photo you can see a doctor in a hospital. He is wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck, and he is writing on a clipboard. Behind him there is an elderly patient lying in a bed, and the hospital looks very busy, with nurses and machines everywhere. The doctor is looking after the sick.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (there is) · se ve a… (you can see) · una persona / un médico / un paciente
Los síntomas: le duele (la cabeza / la garganta) · tiene fiebre / tos / un resfriado · está enfermo / cansado / débil
En el médico: ir al médico / al hospital · una cita · recetar una medicina · una pastilla · descansar
Opinar (tu turno): hay que cuidar la salud · es importante ir al médico · …porque…
Then the conversation
- Q2 — last time you were ill: La última vez que estuve enfermo/a, tenía … y me dolía …
- Q3 — what you do when ill: Voy al médico, tomo medicina y descanso en la cama.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Para mí, cuidar la salud es esencial porque sin salud no se puede disfrutar de la vida.
- Higher tier: use the past — Tuve un accidente / me rompí… (preterite), me dolía / no podía… (imperfect) — and add tener cuidado and an opinion.
The role-play.
The instructions are in English. You must answer the prompts and ask one question (the ! bullet). Try it out loud first, then reveal the model answers.
You feel ill and you are at the doctor's in Spain. Your teacher plays the doctor.
Model answers & tips
Write your answer.
Two tasks in the real exam style — a Foundation ~50-word task (five bullets) and a Higher ~90-word task (three bullets). Use the sentence starters (tap to drop them into the pad) and the useful vocab, then compare with a model answer.
Una enfermedad
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe una vez que estuviste enfermo/a. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
Una experiencia con la salud
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe una vez que estuviste enfermo/a o tuviste un accidente. Menciona los tres puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 90 palabras en español.
Foundation answers cover all the bullets with clear, accurate present-tense sentences joined by y, pero and porque, plus at least one opinion. Higher answers do all that and then reach further: more than one tense (e.g. imperfect vivía, near future voy a, conditional me gustaría), opinions with developed reasons, a wider range of connectives (aunque, sin embargo, además) and more ambitious vocabulary. The biggest single lift from Foundation to Higher is justifying opinions and using a second and third tense accurately.